In alpine skiing, a boot is held supported on a ski by means of a front and a rear binding. To adapt the ski to boots of different lengths, one of the bindings, normally the rear binding, incorporates a body which moves along a slide-rail and locking means making it possible to immobilize the body in a specific longitudinal position.
In the case of rental bindings, use is habitually made of slide-rails of significant length, so as to allow adaptation of the ski to a broad spectrum of users having boots of different lengths.
In this special case of rental bindings, the longitudinal position of the binding is very frequently adjusted. The person renting out the skis in fact performs an adjustment each time a different skier uses the skis. These adjustment operations must thus be made easily or rapidly. Advantage is also gained by limiting the backward movement of the body of the binding by means of a stop, in order not to risk accidentally detaching the body from the slide-rail during an adjustment operation, because of a violent movement or abrupt displacement of the body.
Moreover, advantage is gained when the binding can be disassembled, i.e., when the body can be taken off the slide-rail, which remains fastened to the ski, so as to allow cleaning or, potentially, replacement of the body.
Conventional rear bindings thus normally incorporate a slide-rail equipped with a stationary stop positioned toward the rear and have an open front end allowing the body to be detached.
The construction of the binding must thus reflect this constraint, and, in particular, nothing must hinder the release of the body at the front of the slide-rail, thereby giving rise to problems, notably as regards the brake.
There are also devices which have a stationary stop at the front and rear of the slide-rail, one of these stops being, for example, formed by a folded metal tongue. Using pliers, it is possible to untwist this tongue, so as to be able to take off the body. However, after several maneuvers, this tongue finally breaks, thus destroying the stop used to restrict the movement of the body.